CHICAGO — Thousands of former Chicago Public Schools students may join a class action lawsuit against the school board, city and David Lynch’s nonprofit over the defunct Transcendental Meditation program Quiet Time. There is sex.
The complaint alleges that the program, designed by the David Lynch Foundation for World Peace in collaboration with CPS and the University of Chicago, violated the constitutional rights of minor students by incorporating Hindu religious ceremonies into public schools. claims.
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Lead plaintiff Kaya Hudgins, now 21, said she was pressured to sign a consent form and non-disclosure agreement regarding the program. She said representatives from the David Lynch Foundation specifically instructed the students not to tell their parents if she was religious.
Hudgins, who was Muslim at the time, said she was taken to a dark room for a private Hindu “pooja” ceremony during which she was given a mantra and told not to discuss it with anyone. . After learning some of her classmates’ mantras, she started looking them up on the internet and found out that it was the name of a Hindu god.
“My classmates and I were deeply hurt to learn that our school and instructor had made us participate in religious activities without our knowledge,” Hudgins said in a sworn statement.
She testified that when she complained to her teacher that she did not want to participate in the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program, which was contrary to her Islamic beliefs, she was sent to the dean’s office.
“This was very offensive and very confusing. The picture of the man at the puja ceremony bothered me as a Muslim because Muslims are not supposed to worship men. It made me feel guilty and guilty,” Hudgins said. “As a Muslim, I was supposed to pray five times a day. My school made me miss classes for TM practice, but I was not supposed to miss classes for five daily prayers. It was not recognized.”
Students who served as “ambassadors” for the program were rewarded with pizza and snacks, and those who refused to participate were sent to the dean’s office, according to the affidavit. Some were said to have been offered cash.
The consent form Hudgins signed when she was 16 states that TM is an “optional” activity, but if she refuses to participate in the program, which consists of two 15-minute sessions a day. She testified that the student was told that she would be subject to disciplinary action. .
In a ruling last month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly certified the class to approximately 3,000 students who participated in the program from 2015 to 2019 and turned 18 after Jan. 13, 2021.
Mr Kennelly rejected claims by CPS and the David Lynch Foundation that Mr Hudgins was unfit to serve as class representative, calling criticism of the agreement with lawyers a “gross exaggeration” and seeking to discredit Mr Hudgins. He described their efforts as akin to an “attempted character assassination.”
“Defendants have done everything in their power to undermine Hudgins’ credibility and her suitability to represent the class in this case. The court is similarly unpersuaded,” Kennelly said.
John Mauk is a partner at Mauk & Baker, where he specializes in religious freedom litigation. He represents Hodkins and is one of the attorneys appointed by the judge to represent the class.
“Not only were these underage school children coerced by Chicago Public Schools teachers into signing documents they were not required to sign, but they were also tricked into practicing Hindu rituals and Transcendental Meditation during class. and was instructed to conceal its contents,” Mauk said in a statement. His parents were required to participate. ”
Instructions from the headteacher at Bogan School have told teachers that students can “read, draw or close their eyes” during quiet hours.
The class certification in Hudgins’ case follows the settlement of a similar lawsuit filed by Amonte Williams, a former student who first sued the school district in August 2020.
The judge denied class action status to his case because of the language of Mauk’s agreement with Baker, but allowed the constitutional claims to proceed. Williams’ case was scheduled to go to trial in October 2023, but the district approved a $165,000 settlement that month.
Another plaintiff, CPS student Mariya Green, was awarded a $150,000 judgment by the school district and foundation in October 2023.
At the time, a CPS spokesperson said the district maintained that the program did not violate students’ constitutional rights and did not admit any liability when it agreed to pay the $75,000. The other half was funded by the David Lynch Foundation.
After several years of testing the program with small groups of students, several high schools implemented school-wide Quiet Time programs starting in the 2018-19 school year.
Preliminary results from the program’s first year showed a 45 percent reduction in arrests among high school students selected for the meditation group compared with high school students assigned to the control group, according to an October 2018 filing by researchers at the University of Chicago. He claimed to have shown that.
“Although this is a preliminary examination of data based on less than half of the total study sample, we believe these initial results are very encouraging,” the study said.
In September 2019, CPS attorneys contacted the dean of Maharishi University, stating that the district’s agreement expired in June 2018 and that the district would only work with the Transcendental Meditation organization “if the ritual element is removed from the program.” announced that it would continue its partnership with
A memorandum of understanding between the foundation, school district, and Bogan administration requires the foundation to “provide permission slips to parents.”
However, according to student testimony, parents did not give informed consent to the program.
A letter from Bogan High School’s principal informed parents that the program would continue in the 2019-20 school year, although it was ultimately canceled.
Transcendental Meditation is secular and the meditation is voluntary, according to a letter from principal Alary Aziz-Sims.
“If you want your child to benefit from meditation, there’s nothing more you need to do,” Aziz Sims told parents. “Please return the attached form only if you do not wish your child to participate in TM.”
